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In this special retrofit issue we launch our new RetroFirst campaign championing reuse in the built environment. We also announce the winners of the AJ Retrofit Awards 2019 covering 18 different categories; as well as building studies of two retrofit projects: Orms’ conversion of council offices into a hotel in Camden, north London; and Flower Michelin Architects’ Shingle House renovation and extension of a seaside ...

Notting Hill tower plans thrown out – again

Plans for an 18-storey tower in Notting Hill by Urban Sense Consultant Architects have been refused by planners for a second time

The proposal, on behalf of developer Notting Hill Gate KCS, would have provided 2,871m² of retail space, 4,390m² of office space and 46 homes.

The scheme was revised to include nine affordable homes after a previous attempt to build the development was refused by the council and at appeal.

A statement by scheme funder Brockton Capital said: ‘We’re clearly disappointed by the committee’s decision, which went against the officer’s recommendation and the GLA’s support, and are considering our next steps.’

The statement said that the planning inspector who turned down the original application had praised the design quality of the new scheme.

The inspector’s report from last year said that turning the scheme down on the grounds of affordable housing provision would ‘not necessarily prevent the development going ahead in its current form, but would only delay it slightly’.

But councillors at Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea voted against the scheme once again.

Skyline campaigner Barbara Weiss told AJ: ‘I genuinely believe that the appetite for towers has diminished enormously in London. What is very satisfying about this case is that there were a whole group of residents who got together to fight this.

‘When we met them they were very quiet and timid, but by this week they were hugely organised. There are a lot of people becoming very vocal about their rights and how they want London to change.’

The pioneering social enterprise offering placements at local councils is set to expand across the UK – and architects are applying in droves. Ella Jessel finds out why it has struck such a chord. Photography Anthony Coleman

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